Check out this link of potential free agents. Assuming a deal is reached soon here, there is a strong possibility that there will be a fast and furious free agent frenzy soon. So, start thinking about which players might appeal to the Packers. Even though TT doesn’t often dive into the free agency frenzy, for some reason this year, I wonder if he might. There are some quality players on this list and I’m guessing there are others Prisco doesn’t even list. (By the way, I disagree with Prisco’s order here. Unless he knows re injuries or something the order is off.)
Here are the guys that caught my eye:
- Charles Johnson, DE Carolina – if we don’t keep Jenkins which it seems like we won’t, Johnson would be a huge acquisition
- Zach Miller, TE Oakland – imagine Miller and Finley at TE, with our WRs and RBs and Rodgers
- Paul Posluszney, LB Buff – seems like a TT kind of guy
- Ahmad Bradshaw, RB Giants – bet Giants re-sign him, but picking him up would make us ridiculous offensively
- DeAngelo Williams, RB Carolina – could be lots of competition for he and Bradshaw, but landing either one would nicely supplement our backfield
- Justin Blalock, G Atlanta – Blalock could add some nice depth to our O-Line and depending on the Colledge sitution, could possibly start
- Stephen Tulloch, LB Tenn – this guy is a monster and will have an immediate impact on whichever team he goes to
- Ike Taylor, CB Pitt – doubt he’ll get to the market, but if he does he is a high quality cover corner; though the Pack acquiring him is highly doubtful unless Capers is preferring to switch Woodson to safety now
- Santana Moss, WR Redskins – though he’s likely to get scooped up pretty quickly, he would be an amazing fit on the Packers as anyone but the #1 WR. He has been so limited in Wash by a lack of WR support that if he played for a team deep at WR like the Pack, he could be a headache for opposing teams.
- Steve Smith, WR Giants – like lots of the guys above, he’s likely to be expensive or unavailable (though I’m not aware of how extensive his injury issues are presently). But this guy is a very good player who could make a difference for this team.
Again, while TT will most likely wait for the big names to be overpaid, there are some guys on this list whom I believe would be worth paying decent cash for. One of the greatest challenges in sports is making a great team better. This involves some degree of risk taking and I’m hoping we can snag a couple players (on this list or not) who can positively influence games for us.
packergeeks 
June 28, 2011 at 6:32 pm |
I agree with a lot, but will point out 3 things..
Getting Bradshaw or Deangelo.. would be friggin awesome. One of them with Grant, Starks and the rookie. Depth depth depth. And there is a good chance Grant is gone next year, so its prepping for future, along with our other guys. We would literally go from basically the worst backfield, to one of the better and deepest backfield. We may not have an AP, but I wouldn’t be disappointed with this lol.
I say no to adding a WR. I’m starting to think we can keep Jones at a reasonable price. I think there may be a team out there who would pay him way too much, like there always is. It’s why those teams can never do well, its cause they don’t have a clue about what they are doing and pay way too much for players which limits how much they got for other players. But Jones has not shown consistency, and elite talent.. At this point, he’s a good receiver, but has yet to show he can be elite, and you still can’t depend on him for now. Adding Santana, or Steve Smith would definitely boost this group, but if we go back in Jennings, Jordy, Jones, Cobb, Finley.. It’s a decent group. Unless we got a good guy for very cheap (we got a couple superstars on our team, gotta spend our money wisely).
Lastly, Dline and pass rusher. I think if Jenkins go, and all signs say he will.. we should get a replacement. Teams are able to contain Clay, when thats all they need to worry about. I know Raji is becoming a force, but if we can get somebody on the outside this line is unstoppable. We don’t want pressure just from Clay. We want it from each side and up the middle from Raji. Don’t care who the QB is, they don’t stand a chance.
I am curious about the Oline though. Things improved greatly last year, and I hope we have another strong group this year. I’d say we are good at tackle, especially with Sherrod, but I don’t know much about our situation at guard and center. I say it should be high on our list to make sure this line is a strong line. First and foremost, we need #12 under center next season no matter what, so we must have a strong line.
June 28, 2011 at 6:46 pm |
I’d be surprised if TedCo went after nearly anyone on your list. Both of your ‘backers are inside guys, a position at which they’re stuffed. Charles Johnson is going to break someone’s bank, and I doubt it will be GB’s. They’ve got five TEs on the roster or drafted already, and there’s no way Ted will sign old HBs to big money with two guys already competing for depth and a rookie 3rd round pick waiting – he’s more likely to bring Brandon Jackson back at some reasonable price tag than Bradshaw or Williams.
Ted’s mostly a bargain shopper, looking for players he want that no-one else does; major-money free agents also need to plug starter holes. On offense, there’s no real hole to plug save for LG, and he’s got candidates coming out his ears for that on the roster already. Manny Lawson and Quincy Black might fit at OLB, or Kiwanuka; maybe Ray McDonald at DE. Other than that … I’m really skeptical.
June 29, 2011 at 1:36 am |
WRT the running backs:
– I’d be shocked if the Giants let Bradshaw get away. (What are they going to do–make Brandon Jacobs their starter? Not hardly)
-DeAngelo Williams seems like an injury risk–he missed 3 games in ’09, and 10 games in 2010.
Given the Packers have Grant and Starks (at least for one more season), I’d be surprised if they make a big FA move to get another RB.
WRT tight ends:
I agree it would be good to have a quality TE to go along with Finley (or in place of him if/when he gets hurt again). Crabtree and Quarless didn’t exactly light things up last year. But given the Packers drafted a couple tight ends, I’d be surprised if they traded for another one.
Secondary:
Charles Woodson can’t have many more years left, and given that our other best corners are a Sam Shields (a rookie) and Tramon Williams (only one (really) good year of play). Nnamdi Asomugha would be an awesome pickup–veteran leadership, and established skills.
(Although even if the Raiders somehow let him go, I’d be surprised if the Packers were aggressive enough to get him…)
D∈T
June 29, 2011 at 6:41 am |
What is the FA status of Logan Mankins? I thought he was going to be unrestricted. That is one guy who could fill the LG spot and make a huge impact. Sitton and mankins would be hands down the best G combo in the league and with the young guys coming at T the pack would really be poised for dominance.
June 29, 2011 at 7:15 am |
Dave – I do think picking up Asomugha would suddenly give our defense huge depth and a range of CB/Safety options – but the price will be really steep. And Travis, I agree the O-Line should be a priority if we dive into free agency – especially LG. Ray, I checked and Logan Mankins apparently has the franchise tag at the moment for New England so many think he’s not going anywhere this year. Too bad because I very much agree that adding him into the mix would be amazing (though there could be stiff competition on the open market for him with the Bears – Lovie apparently loves the guy).
June 29, 2011 at 2:52 pm |
This could just be complete chaos. Not only would you have the 300+ veteran free agents but you also have the mad-scramble for the un-drafted rookies that usually occurs right after the draft. I would guess the league will open the league year but not start free agency for 7-10 days. That will give teams some time to sign un-drafted rookies to flesh out their 80-man roster and to re-sign their own players who would otherwise become UFA’s.
I would guess Crosby and Anthony Smith would be priorities to re-sign as each could be signed at an affordable price. They seem to like Crosby and Smith provides important depth behind Collins. Jackson might also be back once he discovers no one is going to pay him feature back $. I just think he might have more value to the Packers then any other team.
They would love to have Colledge, Jones, and Jenkins back but they will have more value to other teams who have gaping holes at these important spots then the Packers who have the ability to replace them with younger players on the roster.
Jones might have the best chance of coming back of the three but still seems unlikely. He seems like a limited route runner and the Packers were never really able to convert him to anything other then a 3rd target. Just not the most cerebral WR and his routes always seemed fairly limited. If MM couldn’t get Jones to be a more consistent multi-faceted WR then I’m pretty sure Mike Martz or whoever is not going to do much better. Jones had every chance to be Driver’s replacement but Jordy clearly won that job last year. I think other teams might shy off a player like that especially given the short off-season.
June 30, 2011 at 9:07 am |
It appears that the reports of an deal have been greatly exaggerated.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/nfl-collective-bargaining-agreement-demaurice-smith-agreement-not-close-062911
July 5, 2011 at 3:37 pm |
This from Mike Silver at Yahoo Sports:
“While there will be some fast and furious movement among veteran free agents, many will simply re-up with their current teams and put off testing the market until next year or the year after. Look for a lot of one- and two-year deals at virtually the same pay grade as players and teams search for short-term stability amid the madness.”
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ms-silver_new_nfl_cba_will_erase_fans_pain_070511
July 5, 2011 at 7:00 pm |
Incredible. This guy is a tool. He clearly hasn’t learned.
Get rid of this guy, he has no idea how lucky he is to have talent to be an NFL player. If he wants to throw that away, because he thinks he’s more important that the world, fine. It’s a shame to see talent thrown out the window, when if he worked hard everyday, he could be famous and recognized for his skill, not his stupidity.
July 5, 2011 at 8:00 pm |
Underwood just sealed his fate. Williams, Woodson, Shields, and 4th round pick House all have roster spots. Bush is an amazing ST player and had a great Superbowl and will make the roster. Underwood was going to compete with Bell, Lee, and Gordy for the last roster spot. He’ll now be cut as soon the season opens. I’m sure TT would rather sign an undrafted rookie then deal with him anymore…. prostitution…domestic abuse….no thanks.
July 8, 2011 at 7:55 am |
@DaveK: Bush seems like kind of a marginal player to me. Yeah, he had that interception in the Super Bowl, but he was also the guy that let Ward get free for the Steelers first TD (and didn’t they say the INT was something of a fluke because JB was out of position?).
Note even Underwood’s wife says the ‘domestic abuse’ situation has been blown out of proportion (http://packersnews.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20110706/PKR01/110706037/Green-Bay-Packers-CB-Brandon-Underwood-s-wife-Brandie-didn-t-want-him-arrested). Actually I think Underwood’s biggest problem is that he never managed to be anything more than a warm body on special teams last year.
July 19, 2011 at 11:59 am |
never before have i felt like i would be absolutely content if the Packers don’t even pursue a free-agent.
i feel that way this year. i know losing jenkins and jones will be difficult, but i’m starting to think this is what it felt like to be a patriots fan (re: the draft and free agency) for the last 7 or 8 years.
not very many of TT’s picks have been 1st year phenoms, save for matthews, but SO MANY of them are solid players by year 2 or 3, and the trend has continued enough years in a row that i have no reason to doubt that it will continue this year – and we’ll be just fine/incredible.
July 19, 2011 at 12:07 pm |
even the free agents that i think ‘eh, that’d be cool’ – would require a salary that would create unbalance compared to other players at that position already on the roster – and would require multi-year deals that would keep us from signing emerging roster talent to their 2nd contract.
there are exceptions (woodson). but really, it’s pretty cool to be able to watch all sorts of other teams paying free agents huge bucks for what they did last year, knowing most of them will grossly underperform for the next few years (until another contract year).